Spraying grass

Well they are finally going to do it on Hubbard Creek. Saying it will be very limited but I know they plan to spray Fort Worth cut.

There goes that lake TPWD can’t stand a lake to have any grass .

I'm sure it's sorta safe to drink.

Quick!! Everyone load your livewells with hydrilla, and transplant it into Ivie. Maybe by the time TPWD sprays it on Ivie, we can take some back and replant Hubbard.
Seriously though, they are concerned about aquatic vegetation that does nothing but make a fishery great, and will die once the drought hits again. But never mind the wake boats that cause shore erosion and siltation, along with property damage. Plus, I’m sure wake boaters are primarily responsible for zebra muscles more than fishermen, because you know dang well they don’t clean and dry their ballasts. I wish TPWD would swab every wake boat before it launches and see that they harbor zebra larvae.
Done with my rant!

DAMN IT... Why the heck do they do this bull [censored]

I have seen the treatment proposal. In 2019 the total estimated hydrilla coverage was 3110 surface acres. The treatment plan calls for treating just 8 acres or 0.26% of the grass present. If you want more information about it, please contact Michael Homer with TPWD in Abilene. He is the district fisheries biologist. 325-692-0921.

I hope that's all they kill but I have my doubts. They've flat ruined grass lakes in the past.

Sounds like a test run...what other purpose would spraying 0.26% serve?

Treatment is only being done to areas where grass is blocking access like boat ramps, etc.

So, Hubbard has roughly 15,000 surface acres, and TPWD is claiming 25% or 1/4 of the lake is hydrilla. I call BS. And good luck making sure the chemical stays in that 8 acres, with our 25-30 mph winds.

did this at Toledo Bend...of course they sprayed a lot... and no hydrilla since.. and the fishing has sucked since.

They destroyed one of my favorite bass lakes already doing this BS (Coleto Creek). Makes me want to cry.

A good lawyer could probably bring a lawsuit against them for the chemicals they are dumping in our lakes.

Lake Clark is the same way now too. It used to be crystal clear and loaded with healthy grass types. Now it’s barren and the water is a nice stained BROWN/COPPER color. Fishing is already way different.

Hydrilla is the most heavily treated aquatic plant in the US, agencies know exactly how to apply the chemicals necessary to kill it or they hire experienced contractors to handle it. Why would they bother with a test run? If they wanted to nuke all of the vegetation, they'd just stock grass carp; they're far more cost effective than chemicals and will eat the hydrilla and coontail I've seen growing there in the past.



No state agency would be stupid enough to use something that is not fully EPA approved and vetted. Ask the district biologist what chemical is being used, I'm sure they'll tell you. Then, you can look up the label for that product to see all of the application precautions and restrictions. If someone can prove they're not following the label instructions or using a chemical not approved for aquatic use, then they absolutely should be held accountable.

I'm on the side of manage vegetation, not eliminate it, even if it's hydrilla.

I've seen how their professional contractors spray all the buck brush, willows, lillypads on Fork.

They could be using the pellets which typically kills only where it's dumped

why can't the biologists see that hydrilla creates fantastic fishing in lakes where the cover has rotted away....and every lake they have sprayed,it has ruined the fishing.....almost makes you think the chemical companies have "found a way" to influence our biologists like maybe scholarships or research grants.....

Let's hope their "limited" spraying is much more restricted than the "limited" spraying they did on Murvaul 3-4 years ago.

I would love to see these contractors spraying one time. Targeted sprays using the properly labeled herbicides under legal spraying conditions can't kill hydrilla on the entire lake or even large areas. We treat hydrilla in our irrigation ponds on a regular basis. Have for many many years. We treat within 100 yards of our intakes. If it's not sprayed it never dies. EVER! So either there is major applicator error, they are lying about the actual acres treated, they are lying about the chemicals used, or the spraying is getting blamed for hydrilla dying of environmental conditions. For instance we got 10 inches of rain last week. The water in our irrigation ponds are 4ft -5ft high and muddy. This one event will cause a massive hydrilla die off in the coming weeks. Has nothing to do with any chemical application. It simply has no light to perform photosynthesis. I can promise you it is possible to make a targeted spray and not kill massive areas of aquatic vegetation. The other thing to consider is that many of the spray requests are made by HOA's, municipal ramps, etc to the reservoir control authority. Often times TPWD really has no decision on allowing or denying a spray application especially at the biologist level. Lots of factors here. It's a shame that this narrative just keeps going and going. I wish TPWD would to some investigating and PR work to either solve or clear up the misunderstanding on this issue.

I tried calling the TPWD office in Abilene 2 months ago three times, good luck getting a answer. I thought they were in a budget crunch. Typical BS

fishing isnt the lakes priority, its all about water rights.

They don't give a [censored] about the $ bass fishing brings to Breckenridge, tournaments come there because the fishing is great around the grass. Golden Spread club from Amarillo is scheduled to be there this week end, so 40 people can spend some money on rooms and restaurants. Why in the hell does Fort Worth cut need to be sprayed, and the props will keep ramps clear. I suppose some sea doos sucked in some grass and daddy got pissed, well I'm pissed.

If fishermen raised as much stink with the right people like the ones wanting the grass gone there might be a chance to stop the spraying.

Hydrilla is the devil!

I have talked with him and he is a nice guy. I simply have zero confidence that TPWD or landowners will get it right. Name one lake they have t killed virtually all of the grass on they were only going to spot treat. And one only has to look at LBJ to see what allowing property owners the right to treat their water fronts. At that lake they never sprayed only the landowners treated.

My hope is they can spot treat it and get it right but it will be the first time.

Sorry, I'm on your side.

I emailed them (TPWD) and they said they were only going to spot treat the ramps and the Ft Worth cut , we will see .

Ok guys, here's what they're officially saying.


WEST·CENTRAL·TEXAS·MUNICIPAL·WATER·DISTRICT 410 Hickory Street Abilene, TX 79601 Phone 325-673-8254 Fax 325-673-8272 www.wctmwd.org
AQUATIC VEGETATION HUBBARD CREEK RESERVOIR
New Update **07/09/2020**
The District continues to receive comments and inquiries concerning the summer Hydrilla bloom at Hubbard Creek Reservoir (HCR). As in previous years, we are in regular contact with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).
TPWD Inland Fisheries conducts annual hydrilla coverage surveys. They documented extensive coverage during the 2017-2019 surveys. To date, no treatments of Hydrilla have been conducted at the reservoir. TPWD and the District have identified public access areas including HCR boat ramps, the public swimming area, and two areas used commonly for boating corridors as candidates for treatment. Chemical treatment of an entire reservoir is generally cost prohibitive and has significant impact on the reservoir’s fish population. Thus the TPWD Inland Fisheries has been adamant that any possible hydrilla treatments for HCR be to control access issues and would not be done at the expense of the fish habitat and angling.
This year, with prudent guidance from TPWD, a decision has been made to treat the major boating lanes, public boat ramps, and the swimming area at HCR. These treatments will be made with an EPA/TCEQ approved aquatic herbicide for public water supply reservoirs. In addition, the raw water intake for our four public water supplies is over 3,000 feet from the nearest treated area, meaning that if there were any impact to water quality, which is not the case according to both the Federal and State agencies, such impact would be attenuated by dilution.
The treatment date for all proposed areas is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, 2020.
Lake lot owners still have the option to treat areas around their ramp, dock, or swimming areas with chemical herbicide or other methods. However, any mitigation will require submission of a a TPWD Aquatic Vegetation Treatment Proposal and approval. Licensed commercial applicators will be required for performing any proposed chemical treatments while following the guidelines provided by TPWD. Proposals will no longer be accepted by TPWD for 2020 after October 31st.
Per TPWD guidelines, proposed treatments are limited to a 10-ft radius around docks and a 15 linear foot boat lane from dock bays. Property shorelines may be treated out to a 25-linear ft

fringe from shoreline’s edge or a max of 4 ft deep. These guidelines are expected to improve swimming and boating access while maintaining fish and wildlife habitat.
For additional information, see: https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/environconcerns/nuisance_plants/ For the permit application, click on Appendix C in the above link.
For a list of licensed aquatic chemical applicators in Texas: http://www.texasaquaculture.org/PDF/Avail_List.pdf

Yep which would be fine but I don’t think they can effectively spot treat Fort Worth cut. That is one of the best areas on the lake for grass and holds a lot of fish.
How will the eliminate drift, wind and current from moving the herbicide around.

Read the first line, people keep bugging them about the grass. If WE bugged them as much or more on out keeping the grass they may not spray it.

THEY NEVER LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES.

IDIOTS

I wish that were true but I know two WCT!WD board members very well and we had a strong effort from fisherman out here to get them not to do this. He told me he was amazed at how many fisherman sent emails, letters and made phone calls compared to the very Few property owners that had complained. I am a property owner on the lake and have attended a couple of board meetings and they simply would not allow anyone to speak and could have cared less about fishermen.
The only person who would listen was the TPWD biologists. He has tried to assure me and others that they were not going to kill much grass. But also admits that Past history is not all that good where TPWD sprayed grass.

Well, I hope they figure out how to fix their past screw ups. Thanks for going to the meetings and being vocal

update? did they kill all the fish?

Have they sprayed the grass even?

was supposed to be on the 21st

You can kiss your hydrilla goodbye. Someone that lives up there come back to us in a year and tell us how well they controlled the grass.

Saw a post from some spraying on Conroe recently and lots of small bass floating after they went through. Pretty eye opening

bring some to fork, puh-leeeeez!

what ever is used it will destroy the fishing God help we waited years for it to come back and the ))*(&^&&^)_+)+_(_ are killing it .I hope your happy Breckenridge you just lost a lot of $ when the fisherman leave. you can close the cafe.s and the hotels you want need them anymore

Yep

Someone posted a video of them spraying grass along the bank on the north end of Conroe earlier this week. Guy pick up a couple of small dead bass behind them.

Yes they sprayed the grass and as figured they sprayed about 3x what they said their plan was.
No dead fish but the part of the lake they sprayed, which is the better fishing part the bite is dead for sure.
Grass is disappearing where they sprayed.

Horrible, imagine what it did to Toledo when they sprayed all that during the spawn.

A friend of mine and I came off the lake yesterday 7/29/20 and there is still plenty of hydrilla all over the lake. We caught several between the hydrilla and the bank and I haven't noticed much difference in the fishing since they sprayed. We fish a few days a week out there and nothing has seemed to change. We haven't been through the ft. worth cut but there is still plenty around the pump station and boat docks. I didn't see any dead fish either. We saw one that looked like he had been caught and was bleeding and wasn't moving around too well but didn't see any dead ones. And Butch@hubbard, I don't think Breckenridge had anything to do with them spraying so Im sure they are not happy about it. If it was possible, I would bring some hydrilla to each of the lakes that need it but I think we should leave it in Hubbard.

So how did that little 8 acre treatment turn out?

Just like we all figured. Found out they sprayed 500 acres not 8 from the contractor they hired. That was just about all of the grass in the lake. There definitely wasn’t 3100 acres of grass. TPWD sucks

What are the cancer implications? Eating fish, swimming in the water, aerosolized herbicides.

Just back from HC a couple days ago(Tuesday). Spot treat”? Bwahahaha! I have no info, no knowledge and not going to tell y’all “I heard”. What I can say with 100% certainty is there is a fraction of the grass then has been there for the last several years. Indisputable fact: WAY LESS GRASS

[u][/u]

No doubt.--. I made a comment this spring that there were only a couple of places that even had grass in April whereas the 2 previous years there was a ton of hydrilla to fish in April.

I wonder what herbicide they will use? Roundup? That can't be good for anything.

As a retired civil servant(32 years Arlington FD) it drives me nuts that (at least on the surface) the TPWD has to answer to NO ONE. NO ACCOUNTABILITY. IDK what stories are accurate. “They said they sprayed 8 acres”, “the cold winter killed it back”, “dropping water levels”………🤷🏻‍♂️. I do know that the grass was plenty thick last summer after our “ICEMEGETTON” winter!

Hey "Outdoordude" from Arkansas. I was out there June 4th and found one tiny patch of hydrilla. So, I'm here to say--you were right, oh wise one--they didn't nuke it all...

I got chewed up on here a few weeks ago suggesting that TPWD should be held accountable and that their history with grass should lead us all to be skeptical of their proposed solutions. Couple of guys on here even insisted I pledge an undying allegiance to the TPWD. Not sure how many grass lakes they have to turn into barren mud holes before I can say I told you so...

They tend to go full nuclear. Certainly ruined several good fishing lakes.

You should watch the videos of the unsupervised "professional" contractors on Toledo bend from when they literally sprayed everything from the buck brush, haygrass, everything on the shoreline in areas with no salvinia. I don't wanna hear about "these are professionals"

Scott,

I agree with your post. But, the TFF is often about emotional responses without understanding the big picture. Uneducated responses are what fuel the dog pile mentality. Our Texas lakes are made to be water sources to irrigate and provide drinking water. Fishing and boating are a by product. So, those who think that TPWD are a bunch of idiots and always out to get the fisherman...need to understand the big picture.

Water source is correct. So why in the world would we allow the spraying of chemicals into those water supplies? That makes even less sense than just spraying for grass. We are way past the time of needing to shut down spraying.

TPWD is the “TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT”!!! Maybe their focus should be that and leave the other weed control for water availability to the water departments? 🤔🤷‍♂️. Doesn’t mean the property owners, water departments, MUD’s, municipalities wouldn’t still get the eradications done. Just doesn't seem like it falls under the heading of TPWD unless specifically to INCREASE fish & wildlife quality. Look what the TPWD did to Purtis Creek which was built with my tax dollars solely for recreation and nothing else!

Can’t think of many better natural water filters than hydrilla

Sure wish they'd spray Stillhouse, that stuff is everywhere!

well good luck with there being any grass left at all , lake Waco had grass start growing in it about 10 years after they raised it 7 foot and the Marina operator complained so they said they were going to treat the Marina only but it killed it all even up the river

IMHO spraying/eradicating hydrilla is the biggest mistake TPWD has ever made. I know the big picture but hydrilla does not hurt the water as much as the chemicals they spray with or the grass carp (really stupid idea). Have ruined many really good fishing lakes and turned them into wake board/jet ski alleys only. Lived on Lake Conroe during the height of its hydrilla infestation(?????). there was more than enough room for fisherman to have great habitat and wake boarders/jet skiers to have plenty of room to tear it up. A very emotional one sided decision made by TPWD that no matter how many lunkers they reproduce they will never have fishing (bass or anything) as good as when there was hydrilla.
That is a shame.
SHAME ON YOU TPWD

that grass is the only reason that lake is any good

Depends what your fishing for. at one time it was a pretty decent, not great, crappie lake. When the grass was by the island it was fine, Now its taken over the river. there's a reason we call it Stilllousy

All lakes are worse off after they spray the grass but they are TOO STUPID TO REALIZE THAT.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with grass is bad for Stillhouse. Quit talking about Stillhouse or you will see how lousy the fishing can get.

SMH

The 2 biggest things I have against the spraying are the chemicals and the fact that it's hardly ever in the way of recreational boaters. This is just my opinion but the spraying has created its own industry. The agencies rely on contractors to spray and in order to have contractors the have ro give them enough business to stay in business. That creates a dangerous cycle that even if the spraying is found to be problematic, can't be stopped because of legalities or politics in some cases. Look at Florida, the spray companies have been tied back to politicians buddies or family.
Until there is a good case brought to the courts this won't stop. Maybe if ypu could prove the chemicals are staying and polluting the lakes the EPA would do something but they get kickbacks from approving the sprays so that's questionable. My bet would be on a good judge to shut it down. Maybe then we could go with harvesting and beetles and let our lakes be good again

F great!!!!
TPWD boats and trailers at Kickapoo ramp this morning on way to work….PLEASE STOP!!!

THEY ARE STUPID, THEY KILL OFF WAY TOO MUCH GRASS ON ALL THE LAKES THEY SPRAY. Do some research and you will find that to be true.